Vehicle acceleration and deceleration indicator

ABSTRACT

A device for indicating acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle. A Bourdon tube connected to the engine intake manifold of the vehicle has a free end movable as a result of vacuum developed within the manifold. An electrical switch operable by the free en

United States Patent 1 Hawkins VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND DECELERATIONINDICATOR Appl. No.: 87,467

[52] US. Cl. ..340/66, 200/8l.8, 340/97 [51] Int. Cl. ..B60q 1/50 [58]Field of Search .....340/60, 66, 71, 72; ZOO/81.4, 200/8 1 .8

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,270,928 7/1918 Coesfeld..200/81.8 X 1,290,928 1/1919 Denison 4 ..200/81.8 X 2,377,569 6/1945Morse ..340/52 UX 2,683,782 7/1954 Corssen ..200/81.4 3,019,415 1/1962Marion ..340/82 3,244,934 4/1966 Webb ....340/67 X 3,304,381 2/1967McAnespey ....340/7 UX 3,395,388 7/1968 Hendrickson ..340/7l 3,711,828Jan. 16, 1973 7/1941 Pearce et a1 ..340/66 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 441 ,794 6/1912 France ..200/82 1,283,239 12/1961 France257,622 3/1928 ltaly ..200/8l.8

Primary ExaminerJohn W. Caldwell Assistant Examiner1(enneth N. LernerAttorney-Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt & Naughton [57] ABSTRACT 3 Claims, 4Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAHISIBYS 3.711.828

sum 1 or 2 [N VE'N TOR Faber t L. Hawk/17.5

41. for/veg:

VEHICLE ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION INDICATOR BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field ofvehicle indicators; more specifically, those devices for indicatingvehicle acceleration and deceleration.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many automobile accidents are a resultof rear end collisions. In many cases, the rear end collision is aresult of improper warning to a driver of the deceleration of theautomobile in front of his vehicle. Thus, it is desirable to provide adevice on an automobile for indicating acceleration and deceleration.The following U. S. patents disclose devices for solving this problem:US Pat. Nos. 2,513,712 issued to Coombs; and, Re.23,7l9 issued toCoombs; 3,073,922 issued to Miller; 3,320,586 issued to Wagner; and3,492,638 is sued to Lane.

The prior art devices are relatively complex being operated by variouslinkages and switches connected to various pedals of the vehicle,inertia elements and to the engine manifold. None of the prior artdevices provide indicating means based solely and exclusively upon thechange in pressure within the engine I manifold. The present inventionis a device which indicates the acceleration and deceleration of avehicle and is operable exclusively by the pressure within the enginemanifold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a vehicle accelerationand deceleration indicator. A Bourdon tube is connected to the enginemanifold and has a free end movable proportionally to the pressuredeveloped within the manifold. A first switch mounted within anindicator box has a first and second pair of electrical contacts eachbeing operably connected to a first and second relay within theindicator box. An acceleration light is connected to and is operable bythe first relay whereas a deceleration light is connected to andoperated by the second relay. The indicator has an adjustment screw tocontrol the spacing between one of the pairs of contacts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device attachableto a vehicle for indicating the vehicle acceleration and deceleration.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicleacceleration-deceleration indicator which operates exclusively from thepressure developed within the vehicle engine manifold.

In conjunction with the above objects, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved vehicle acceleration-decelerationindicator which is relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anautomobile with portions thereof broken away to illustrate theinstallation of the indicator incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary and enlarged perspective view of indicator boxshown in FIG. I.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the indicator control box taken along theline 3-3 of FIG. 2 viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry of anindicator incorporating the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting anunderstanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now bemade to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing and specific languagewill be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understoodthat no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended,such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device,and such further applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to oneskilled in the art to-which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. I, there is shown a perspectiveview of an automobile 10 having its hood cut away at 37 and its fendercut away at 36. In addition, a portion of the side doors are removed at35 to more clearly illustrate the indicator incorporating the presentinvention. Automobile 10 has an internal combustion engine 13 withcarburetor l2 and air cleaner 11. Attached to the intake manifold 14 ofengine 13 is a rubber or neoprene hose 16 which is sealingly secured toan intake manifold outlet tube (not shown) by a conventional hose clamp15. The opposite end of hose 16 is sealingly connected to indicator box20 by a second hose clamp 15. Indicator box 20 is shown enlarged in FIG.1 to more clearly illustrate the positioning of the box. In addition,the electrical cables 25, 28 and light enclosure 33 are shown asenlarged for illustration purposes. FIG. 2 is a perspective enlargedview of box 20. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the box taken along theline 3-3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows of FIG. 2. Referringnow to FIGS. 2 and 3, box 20 is completely closed on all of its sidesand bottom being open at the top to receive transparent top wall 38.Wall 38 is secured to the thickened comers of the box by standardfastening devices 41 and is flush with top 39 of box 20. Wall 38 may bemade from a material such as plastic and serves as a mounting wall forthe components of the box. A pair of l2-volt DC relays 45 and 46 aremounted to wall 38 by fastening devices 42 having shanks passing freelythrough wall 38 being threadedly received by the relays. A portion ofbox 20 is removed at 71 to illustrate the configuration and mounting ofblock 65. Screws 43 have shanks which pass freely through wall 38 beingthreadedly received into rectangular plastic block 65. Switch 40 issecured to the side of block 65 by screws 44. An insulating spacer 66 ispositioned between switch 40 and block 65. Fixedly mounted and extendingthrough block 67 of switch 40 are three parallel contact springs 62, 63and 64. Electrical terminals 69, 68 and 70 are respectively connected tosprings 62, 63 and 64. Spring 63 is slightly longer than springs 62 and64 and extends out adjacent bracket 58 of Bourdon tube assembly 50.Spring 63 is provided with a pair of electrical contacts 84 and 85.Spring 62 is provided with a single electrical contact 86 mountedadjacent contact 84. Likewise, spring 64 is provided with a singleelectrical contact 87 mounted adjacent contact 85. Contacts 84 and 86are normally closed; however, the electrical continuity between contacts84 and 86 is broken when bracket 58 forces spring 63 toward spring 64thereby causing contact 85 to touch contact 87. Insulating block 60 issecured to the tip of spring 63 by a fastening device 61 to preventshort circuiting of spring 63 with respect to bracket 58. A contactadjustment screw 93 is threadedly received by block 65 having an endabuttable against spring 64. Adjustment of screw 93 will cause spring 64to move with respect to spring 63. A small access hole 94 may beprovided in the side wall of box to allow adjustment of screw 93 withscrewdriver 95. The provision of hole 94 is an optional feature of theinvention and is not necessary to the operation of the invention sincethe adjustment may be made by removing wall 38 from the box and thenturning screw 93. Hole 94 should be sealed to prevent entrance ofmoisture and dust which could contaminate the electrical contacts.

Mounted to wall 38 by fastening devices 52 is Bourdon tube assembly 50.Fastening devices 52 are threadedly received by block 54 which has ahollow interior communicating with nozzle 55 and tube 57. A spacer 53 ispositioned between block 54 and wall 38 to insulate the block from thetop wall. Nozzle 55 extends out through hole 56 provided in the sidewall of box 20.

Sealing material such as adhesive should be used to seal hole 56 toprevent contaminants from entering the box. Tube 57 is bowed beingcompletely hollow from block 54 to the end of the tube adjacent bracket58. The tip of tube 57 is sealed and received by channel 59 fixedlyfastened to bracket 58. Bourdon tubes are well known and thus furtherelaboration thereon by this specification would be superfluous. Sufficeit to say that a decrease in air pressure within block 54 will result inmovement of the free end of tube 57 and bracket 58 toward spring 63thereby causing spring 63 to move toward spring 64. On the other hand,an increase in air pressure within block 54 and tube 57 will result inmovement of the free end oftube 57 and bracket 58 away from spring 63allowing the electrical contact between contacts 87 and 85 to be brokenwith the reestablishment of the normally closed contact between contacts84 and 86.

Hollow terminal posts 47, 48, 49 and 51 (FIG. 2) are mounted atop wall38 each having threaded shanks extending through wall 38 and threadedlyreceiving hexagonally shaped nuts 73. Insulating washers 72 arepositioned between wall 38 and nuts 73. In addition, electrical terminallugs 74 are mounted to the terminal posts being positioned between nuts73 and insulating washers 72. Posts 47, 48, 49 and 51 are quite standardbeing hollow to receive a male terminal. Post 47 (FIG. 4) is connectedby wire 24 to light 29 connected to a suitable ground by wire 27.Terminal 48 is connected to light 30 by wire 23 and also is connected toa suitable ground by wire 26. Wires 23 and 24 are routed via cable 25(FIG. 1) to lights 29 and 30 mounted in the rear window of theautomobile. A suitable light bracket enclosure 33 is provided and isshown enlarged in FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes. In actual use, thelight and bracket would take up only a small portion of the rear window.Lights 29 and 30 have a green lens 31 and a yellow lens 32 securedthereto. Ground wires 26 and 27 are enclosed in cable 28 and areelectrically connected to a suitable ground such as the frame of theautomobile. Bracket 34 secures enclosure 33 to the rear window frame orwindow seal. A second bracket 17 mounted to the fire wall of theautomobile has the indicator box 20 mounted thereon. Post 49 (FIG. 4) isconnected to ground by wire 22 while post 51 is connected to ignitionswitch 18 by wire 21 and is thereafter connected to battery 92 by wire19.

The operation of the present invention will now be described byreferring specifically to FIGS. 1 and 4. When the ignition switch 18 isin the open position, electrical energy from battery 92 is preventedfrom flowing to the indicator and thus both the green and yellow lightsare not energized. In addition, contacts 84 and 86 are in an abuttingrelationship. Upon closing of the ignition switch 18, current flows frombattery 92 via wire 19 through ignition switch 18 and to post 51 vialine 21. Current flows from post 51 through wire 76, lug 68 and contacts84 and 86. The current flowing through the contacts is then routed vialug 69 and wire 79 to relay 46 causing arm 89 to close to the contactconnected to wire 83. Current then flows via wire 77 through arm 89 andwire 83 energizing green light 29. After the engine has started and isidling, the pressure within tube 57 drops below atmospheric pressurecausing the free end of tube 57 and bracket 58 to move in the directionof arrow 96 forcing spring 63 to the center position interrupting theflow of current through contacts 84 and 86. The coil of relay 46 is thenunenergized preventing the flow of current to green light 29. Uponacceleration of the automobile, the pressure within tube 57 willincrease sufficiently so as to cause the free end of tube 57 and bracket58 to move back in the direction of arrow 97 again closing contact 84with contact 86 thereby turning on the green light-When the automobileis decelerating the pressure within tube 57 will decrease causing thefree end of tube 57 and bracket 58 to move in the direction of arrow 96until contacts 85 and 87 are in an abutting relationship. This routescurrent from spring 63 through spring 64, lug and wire to relay coil 45.The movable arm 88 of relay 45 will then close up on the contactconnected to wire 82 providing for the flow of current through wires 77and 82 energizing yellow light 30. Relays 45 and 46 are connected toground, respectively, by wires and 81. The spacing between contacts and87 may be adjusted with screw 93 thereby controlling the point at whichyellow light 30 is energized. For example, by retracting screw 93thereby increasing the gap between contacts 85 and 87, a relativelygreater amount of vacuum or lower pressure within the intake manifoldwill be required to force contact 85 to abut contact 87. On the otherhand, by decreasing the gap between contacts 85 and 87 by adjustingscrew 93 inwardly, a relatively smaller vacuum or higher pressure willbe required in the intake manifold to force the contacts 85 and 87 tomate. Thus, the yellow light will energize at a relatively slightdeceleration.

It will be obvious from the above description that the present inventionprovides a device for attachment to a vehicle for indicating vehicleacceleration and deceleration. It will be further obvious from the abovedescription that the present vehicle indicator operates exclusively fromthe vacuum developed within the engine manifold. In addition, it will beobvious that the indicator is relatively inexpensive and easy toinstall.

While the invention has been illustrated and 7 described in detail inthe drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. A device connectable to a vehicle engine manifold for indicatingacceleration and deceleration of the vehicle comprising:

a Bourdon tube connectable to said manifold having a free end movableproportionally to pressure developed within said manifold;

a first switch having a first contact and a second contact and a firstspring member extending therebetween, said member being engaged with andmovable by said free end and having a third contact opposite said firstcontact and a fourth contact opposite said second contact, said firstand third contacts and said second and fourth contacts being opened andclosed by movement of said member;

second switch means operably connected to said first switch;

third switch means operably connected to said first switch;

an acceleration light connected to and operable by said second switchmeans; and,

a deceleration light connected to and operable by said third switchmeans; and wherein:

said first and third contacts are open when said vehicle isaccelerating, said second and fourth contacts are closed only when saidvehicle is accelerating;

said third and fourth contacts are connected via said member to a sourceof electrical energy;

said second switch means is operably connected to said second contact;and,

said third switch means is operably connected to said first contact; andwherein:

said first switch has a second spring member with said first contactmounted thereon and additionally comprising:

adjustment means operable to move said second spring member to changethe spacing between said first and third contacts.

2. The indicator of claim 1 wherein:

said second means is a relay with a coil and contacts,

said coil is operably connected to said second contact and one of saidcontacts of said second means is connected to said acceleration light;and,

said third means is a relay with a coil and contacts, said coil of saidthird means is operably connected to said first contact and one of saidcontacts of said third means is connected to said deceleration light.

3. The indicator of claim 2 wherein:

said first and third contacts are normally opened and said second andfourth contacts are normally closed;

said free end of said Bourdon tube is connected to said first sriringlmember and, said first SWl ch as a third spring member with said

1. A device connectable to a vehicle engine manifold for indicatingacceleration and deceleration of the vehicle comprising: a Bourdon tubeconnectable to said manifold having a free end movable proportionally topressure developed within said manifold; a first switch having a firstcontact and a second contact and a first spring member extendingtherebetween, said member being engaged with and movable by said freeend and having a third contact opposite said first contact and a fourthcontact opposite said second contact, said first and third contacts andsaid second and fourth contacts being opened and closed by movement ofsaid member; second switch means operably connected to said firstswitch; third switch meaNs operably connected to said first switch; anacceleration light connected to and operable by said second switchmeans; and, a deceleration light connected to and operable by said thirdswitch means; and wherein: said first and third contacts are open whensaid vehicle is accelerating, said second and fourth contacts are closedonly when said vehicle is accelerating; said third and fourth contactsare connected via said member to a source of electrical energy; saidsecond switch means is operably connected to said second contact; and,said third switch means is operably connected to said first contact; andwherein: said first switch has a second spring member with said firstcontact mounted thereon and additionally comprising: adjustment meansoperable to move said second spring member to change the spacing betweensaid first and third contacts.
 2. The indicator of claim 1 wherein: saidsecond means is a relay with a coil and contacts, said coil is operablyconnected to said second contact and one of said contacts of said secondmeans is connected to said acceleration light; and, said third means isa relay with a coil and contacts, said coil of said third means isoperably connected to said first contact and one of said contacts ofsaid third means is connected to said deceleration light.
 3. Theindicator of claim 2 wherein: said first and third contacts are normallyopened and said second and fourth contacts are normally closed; saidfree end of said Bourdon tube is connected to said first spring member;and, said first switch has a third spring member with said secondcontact mounted thereon, said first, second and third spring members areleaf springs.